MANILA, Philippines — A lady tells a friend: “When I die, I want my remains cremated and my ashes scattered at the mall.”

Puzzled, the friend asks: “Isn’t that weird? Why did you say that?” The lady replies: “So my children will always visit me.” This comes from a lonely grandmother whose children visit the mall more than their elderly kin.

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On All Souls’ Day we visited our departed loved ones in cemeteries and memorial parks. That’s fine. But let’s not forget to visit long “lost,” forgotten relatives too, especially the elderly and sick ones.

Then in the Halloween season, our attention was caught up in spirits, ghosts, vampires, and witches. And although we have a feast of All Saints, the thought of the saints and becoming one were glossed over, if not forgotten.

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“To be a saint?” When you tell that to somebody, chances are he or she will look oddly at you and say, “That’s not for me. I’m too worldly for that.”

But the truth is as Christians, our ultimate goal is – and should be – to become a saint. In short, to attain heaven. If you don’t aspire to reach it, where will you be in the next life?

Someone quipped, “There are only two places you’ll spend eternity: The smoking (Hell) and non-smoking (Heaven) area.

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That’s why the French novelist Leon Bloy wrote: “The only tragedy in life is not to be a saint.”

Becoming a saint does not mean imitating the extraordinary feats of someone like the martyrs who died for their faith centuries ago. If you can do it, great.

Becoming a saint in our modern times means more of imitating people who fell down and kept trying to rise.

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For instance, they may have committed mistakes in their marriage or religious life, but kept rising, learning from their mistakes, and faithfully following God’s will. Remember such saints like Saints Peter who denied the Lord,  Paul the fierce persecutor, Matthew, the hated tax collector, the sinful Mary Magdalene?

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If such people have anything extraordinary about them, it is that they never stopped to be TH (Trying Hard) to be faithful to the Lord and His teachings in spite of their weaknesses and failures. They were ordinary people who lived extraordinary lives.

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QUIPS TO PONDER. If you think you are indispensable, take a walk around the local cemetery. Rich or poor, famous or infamous, all life leads to the grave.

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You may party in Hell, but you will be the barbeque! ...Honk if you love Jesus. Text while driving if you want to MEET Him… Whoever is praying for rain, please stop now!

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Try Jesus.  If you don’t like Him, the devil will always take you back.

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GOD BLESS – the latest donors to  Adopt a Seminarian educational program:  Freight Connection Phils. Inc.; Deepak Punjabi; Charlito-Lilian Gaviola; Nakia Clothing Studio Inc.; Elizabeth Ramoso; L.H. Fernandez; Dr. Ramon Rabago Jr.; Hideliza F.-Ma. C. Madella; Jose-Alicia Quimsin.

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We request others to chip in an amount or sponsor a seminarian’s schooling. For inquiry, e-mail me at: belsvd@yahoo.com.